The Light at the End of the Tunnel
by Sciencegal
Summary: Melody lived with the death of her older sister, Carol, for years. Believing that her sister's death was all her fault, she flees to New York City. Due to her troubled nature she ends up catching the eyes of the turtles. A love story with my favorite OC!
1. Flashbacks and Mutant Turtles

**Author's note:** There's no reason why I like Melody as an OC so much... She doesn't even fall in love with my favorite turtle! cries (Melody: Just get on with it you big cry baby!) Alright Melody... Ya know... with this being my story and all... (Melody: Don't even think about it!)

**Chapter 1: Flashbacks and Mutant Turtles**

_"Please don't make me do this!" I said with tears in my eyes. "Please!" The hot burning feeling at my back prickled my senses and my cheeks felt wet with my tears. I looked around at the blaring fire around me. The crackling of the fire grew louder and I wanted to cover my ears, but I knew I couldn't. They were currently keeping my sister from falling into a hole created when the boards below her feet had opened up. The heat of the fire burned my back as I held her._

_"You have to let me go, Melody," My sister said and I could tell she was crying too. "You have to! This is the only way you can survive. We'll both die in here if you don't. I'm already a goner. Please. Just do this last thing for me."_

_"I can do it!" I said, "I know I can! Just let me think first."_

_"There's no time!" She said, "The fire's getting closer."_

_"No!"_

_&_

Melody shook her head violently as she tried to clear it. She wasn't going back there. Not even in memories. That's why she had moved to New York as soon as she could. She hoped her usual walk would help her think, but that's when she got most of her flashbacks. She looked around as she pulled her hood farther over her face. She didn't recognize this part of New York and she didn't remember what turns brought her there. She shrugged and continued walking hoping her feet knew where to take her. Only then did she notice someone was following her. She turned to face her pursuer and spotted a man with a tight shirt that showed off his muscles. On his arm was a tattoo of a purple dragon. Melody turned back around and quickened her pace, but the footsteps behind her only grew louder and faster. She turned again and this time saw three more men with the same tattoo on their arm.

"You're the gang that goes by the name of the purple dragons aren't you?" Melody asked as she narrowed her eyes.

"Yeah, what of it?" The first said and turned back to his buddies and they shared a small smirk that Melody noticed.

"What do you want?" Melody asked.

"What makes ya think we want anythin'?" The man said. Melody suspected he was the leader of their little group and she wasn't amused.

"Well, if following me isn't too obvious there was chasing too." Melody said sarcastically.

"You ain't from around these parts, are ya lady?"

"What makes you say that?" Melody retorted.

"Well, if your dialect isn't too obvious there was the fact you're still standin' there talkin' to us." The man said and shared a laugh with his buddies.

"Aren't you mature..." she said, sarcastically, "What next? Do you want to play with your little toys?" She turned and began to walk away as the man grabbed her by her wrist.

"You want to be careful lady." The man whispered sinisterly in her ear. "We ain't goin' ta be gentle when we tear ya apart for trespassin'."

Melody smirked and tugged hard, causing the man to hunch forward. Then she sent her knee into his groin and as he keeled over in pain, she elbowed him at the nape of his neck. He collapsed to the ground, unconscious, and she grinned as she walked away.

"Where do ya think you're going, missy?" Another man said as he blocked her only escape. She looked around and her grin quickly faded from her face. She was surrounded and one person is easy enough, but three? Too bad she wasn't that lucky she thought as five more man came around the corner and she knew she was going to pay for that short moment of glory. Eight men? There was no way she was going to defeat eight grown men by herself no matter how much they acted like little kids who had just gotten their ice cream stolen from them...

_&_

_"No! I've got an idea! Hold on tight, Carole!" I said as spotted a rope about to fall though the floor boards of the old building. My sister told me countless times to stay away from this place and now I knew why..._

_My friends and I always loved this old barn. We would hang out there all day and sometimes into the night. My older sister, Carole, was the only one who knew other then us. She would be the one to end our day of carefree happiness. This day she had come five minutes too late. We had been playing hide and seek and I had chosen to hide in the upper floor. Inside an old trunk seemed like the perfect hiding place and that's were I stayed for almost an hour. I had given up on hiding after a while and had gotten out of the trunk only to discover the fire that had already blocked the exits._

_"Melody!" I heard Carole yell, "Melody, where are you!"_

_"Right here!" I yelled back and coughed as the smoke began to enter my lungs. I ran to her as soon as I saw her, but she wasn't smiling._

_"Melody, watch out!" She yelled and forcibly pushed me out of the way. I quickly stood back up and turned to see Carole start to fall through the floor and I quickly grabbed her hand..._

&

Melody shook her head again and opened her eyes in time to see four mutant turtles fighting with the purple dragon men. She took this opportunity to disappear down a side street. As she left, one of the turtles with an orange bandana saw her out of the corner of his eye.

"Hey, Raph!" The turtle yelled. Another turtle with a red bandana punched the person he was holding in his hands and let him drop to the ground before he answered.

"What Mikey?" He asked.

"I think the girl we just saved just made a get-away."

**Author's note:** I would love to hear what you think! Please review!


	2. Stealing and Captured

**Author's note:** Here's the next chapter. These chapters are meant to be short.

**Chapter 2:**

Melody walked back and forth in her room trying not to think about the tragedy that keeps on playing through her mind. She closed her eyes and sat down on her bed. She pressed her fists to her eyes until she saw stars. Nothing worked. She stood again and grabbed her cloak as she walked out the door.

Her destination was the liquor store around the corner. She entered the store and checked to see if she had any money as she headed to the shelf that held what she needed. Her eyes widened when she found nothing in her pockets. 'I need this!' She thought. She looked around, quickly grabbed it, and put it in her pocket.

"Hey!" She heard from behind her. She turned and smiled under her hood.

"What?" She asked, innocently.

"Put that back," a man said. He was a heavy-set security guard with a mustache. "I know you stuck that into you pocket, lady. Put it back where you found it."

"What? This?" Melody said as she held up a whole bunch more from the shelf. "I wouldn't have stolen it unless I needed it, right buddy?"

"You gonna get yourself in trouble, ma'am."

"I don't really think I care." Melody began to walk away with the stolen merchandise as the man called her back. "See ya!" Melody said and as soon as she heard the man began to run after her, she ran even faster. She was out of the building in seconds leaving the man breathless in her wake. She smiled as she turned the corner and came to a speeding halt in front of two turtles.

"Hey!" The turtle with the orange bandana said, "Isn't that the same girl we helped last night?"

"Yeah, I think so," The one with the blue bandana said. Melody turned away from them but stopped when she saw two more turtles blocking her last escape.

"What is it with you guys?" Melody said, angrily. "Oh no! I'm cornered! Whatever shall I do?" She said sarcastically as she spotted a fire escape ladder. "See ya, suckers!" She said as she started to climb the ladder. She didn't get far before one of them grabbed her feet and pulled her down.

"Let me go, creep!" She yelled. She struggled and finally managed to step hard onto his foot. He screamed in pain and let go after she felt the bones crush underneath her foot. She smiled and ran, but this time the turtle with the purple bandana grabbed her and held her. She struggled and the turtle could barely hold her.

"Could someone just knock her out already?" The turtle said as he struggled. Seemingly, out of nowhere, one of the turtles elbowed her in the head with such force she was unconscious almost instantly.

"Maybe you shouldn't have hit her so hard, Raph."

"Hey, did you see what she did to my foot? I can barely walk!"

Melody slowly opened her eyes, sat up, and looked around. "Where am I- ow!" She put her hand on her head and said, "What did I get hit by? A truck?"

"No, it was just Raph," one of the turtles standing around her said. She noticed he was wearing an orange bandana.

"Tell me," Melody said, harshly, "Which one of you mutants is Raph so I can kill him!" The red bandana-wearing turtle pointed at the one who spoke first, but Melody goes to attack him instead. The two other turtles grabbed her before she got close enough. "Let me at him!" She said as she struggled against them.

"Yeah, go ahead." The turtle she thought was Raph said, "I can take her."

"You think you're so high and mighty don't you?" Melody said, "I've seen the purple dragons fight better then you!"

The turtle with the purple bandana mumbled, "3… 2… 1"

"Let's see how well the purple dragons do in rearranging your face back to normal!" Raph said as he lunged at Melody, but one of the turtles (he had a blue bandana) ran over and held him back.

"Did you hear that?" The only turtle still holding her said. "I think Raph just snapped."

"Donny," The turtle holding Raph said, "You're going to make it worse."

"Raph can get worse?" The turtle with the orange bandana asked.

"I'm right here!" Raph said, annoyed.

"Well why don't you just crawl into a hole and die then!" Melody yelled. "No one will care anyway!" There was a brief silence after her statement as all the turtles looked at her.

"…After you…" Raph said. Melody began to drag Donny as she tried to get closer to Raph.

"Maybe you should go to separate rooms," The turtle with the blue bandana said.

"Fine with me," Raph said as he walked away. As soon as Melody calmed down the other turtles followed.

"Well that was fun!" The turtle with the orange bandana said. Donny slapped him on the back of the head and the other turtle pulled his bandana.

Melody was sitting on the couch when she heard footsteps behind her.

"Hello child," The owner of the footsteps said. "I heard you had an argument with Raphael earlier."

"Oh yeah?" Melody said. She turned to face him and saw he was an old rat. "Great! Another mutant! What do you want?"

"May I ask your name?" The rat said.

"My name's Melody," She answered.

"I am Splinter," The rat said as he bowed to her. "May I sit down?"

"I guess…" Melody said as she looked away. She felt him sit down next to her.

"You must forgive Raphael for his faults. He does have his good points." Splinter said.

"Why do you care for him?" Melody said as she banged her fist on the armrest of the couch. "He is so aggravating!"

"He is my son, they all are." He said, "I understand you had a rough past."

"How would you know?" Melody asked, grumpily.

"I can sense it in your behavior." He said, "May I ask what happened?"

"No. No, you may not."

"Well, whenever you are ready, you can tell me."

"Hmph…" Melody mumbled to herself. "Why would you care?"

"I'll leave you alone for know," Splinter said as he stood, "You need your rest." He walked away and Melody soon fell asleep.

**Author's note:** Please review! I want to hear what you think of this story!


	3. Homeward Bound

"Please don't make me do this

_I quickly grabbed the rope before it fell with my free hand and let Carole hold onto my leg instead so my hands were free. I tied a quick loop and had Carole slip her feet through it. Then I wrapped the other end over a loose ceiling board and pulled her up._

_I smiled as she crawled over the edge and both of us started to look for an exit…_

"Hey! Wake up!" A voice said in Melody's ear.

She didn't open her eyes as she mumbled, "What?"

"Where do you live?" The voice said. She mumbled her address and fell back to sleep.

…_All of them were blocked. Carole and I looked at each other and shared a scared look._

"_How do we get out?" Carole asked slowly._

"_How did you get in?" I asked in reply._

"_From that window," she said as she pointed to a now blocked window in front of them._

"_Now what?" I asked._

Melody slowly woke up from her sleep as she felt herself being lowered to the ground. She opened her eyes and saw Raphael. She quickly stood and backed up from him.

"Why are you here?" Melody said. She looked around and saw she was on the rooftop of a building.

"I brought you home," Raph said, "Believe me; I didn't want to be the one to have this pleasure." He turned away from her with his arms folded.

"Why do you… mutants… have to torture me like this!" Melody said, "From now on you will leave me alone."

"Will you stop calling us mutants?!" Raph shouted as he turned back towards her, "My name is Raphael!"

"Does it look like I care?!" Melody shouted back. "'Cause I don't!"

"I don't care about you either!" He said, "So go away and don't get into any more trouble so I don't have to see you again!"

"Gladly!" Melody said as she turned away. Her hair was blown roughly around her face and her shirt whipped through the air.

"Wait!" Raph said. Melody stopped and turned her head back towards him.

"What?" She said.

"Where did you get that scar from?" He asked.

"This?" Melody said as she showed him the scar that ran diagonally from her right shoulder to her lower back. "Just a souvenir from my lovely childhood. See ya!" She slowly walked away then before he could say anymore.

"_I don't know," Carole said, "Come on!"_

"_Wait!" I said before she could walk away. "Let's go this way!"_

"_Melody!" Carole said, grumpily, "That way is toward the fire."_

"_But there's no exit over there." I said as I pointed behind her. "Come on!"_

"_Watch out!" Carole said a second too late as a ceiling board fell to the floor and caused a scrap object to come flying at me. I ducked, but had squeezed my eyes shut when it cut into my skin. I felt warm blood seep out of the wound and to the floor. Carole ran over to me and looked at the cut._

"_Am I hurt badly?" I asked her. I couldn't see her face, but her silence wasn't a good sign._

"_Um… well… the barber seems to have missed your hair." Carole said as she chuckled awkwardly._

"_Carole!" I said as my tears threatened to come back. "This is no time to joke! It's bad isn't it?"_

"_Yes…" Carole said, "Come on…"_

"_Carole!" I said as I turned to see her trip over a board…_


	4. Leonardo Hamato

**Author's note:** This the start of her relationship with Leo if you were wondering when it would happen. I was just re-reading this story today, and i couldn't help but laugh when it came to my favorite part. (Melody: I don't know why it's your favorite... I don't find it a bit funny) Me: That's 'cause you're like that Melody. Hehe... The part's still a long way off (It's actually the first part of the last chapter) but it makes me laugh every time! (stupid floor...Hehehe)

**Chapter 4:**

Melody snapped awake in her bed and sat up. It took her a few minutes to recognize her own room. She stood, changed, and grabbed her coat as she left her apartment. She climbed the stairs to the roof and sat at the edge of it with her feet dangling over the edge. She stayed there all day and barely noticed the sunset. She heard sirens in the distance and other such night noises. She even saw the turtles jumping from rooftop to rooftop from across the street, but she didn't recognize any of this. She was too deep in thought.

"Hey," Someone said, abruptly bringing her back to the present. She turned and saw the turtle with the blue bandana standing behind her. "Sorry to startle you. It's Melody right?" He asked her.

"Yes," Melody said slowly. "What do you want?"

"What were you just thinking about?"

"Nothing!" Melody said as she turned away from him. "Leave me alone!"

"What made you steal from that liquor store?"

"Is this 'twenty questions'?" She asked, "I have my reasons and I would appreciate it if you would stay out of my business."

"This is my business." He said with an edge to his voice. "You should never have said that to Raphael. You don't tell someone to crawl into a hole and die. He might not admit it, but you really hurt him."

"Good!" Melody said, stubbornly. "He deserved it!"

"What is wrong with you? You don't care about anyone, do you?"

"What makes you say that, mutant?"

"My name is Leonardo." He said. The edge had become sharper now. "What happened to you that was so bad to make you act like this? Your attitude will keep people away you know that? Is that what you want? Because I'll leave right now if you do and I'll never bother you again. I want to help you, but you won't even give me the chance to so I'm walking away right now!"

"Good! I don't need anyone! I've been living by myself happily since my sis-" Melody stopped herself before she would say anymore. She was not going to tell anyone about her past let alone a mutant turtle! She had promised herself this when she moved here. Her past was hers alone and nobody had to know about it. Then she wouldn't have to be reminded about it everyday.

Leonardo had turned to watch her, but had not said a word as he watched the tears that formed in Melody's eyes. "What happened?" He said softly.

"No! I don't want to think about it! Go!"

"Melody-" but the rest of his sentence was lost as her eyes glazed over and she lost herself in another flashback.

&

…_She landed on chicken wire that was strung over a hole in the flooring. Instead of screaming, she had closed her eyes tightly against the pain that I knew she had to be in. I might be only twelve, but I knew these things. My parents used chicken wire to keep out unwanted pests. That's one of the things you have to do in the country. I remembered cutting myself on it once._

"_Are you alright, Carole?" I asked, slowly. I knew it was a stupid question, but I asked it anyway._

"_Just peachy," Carole said as she closed her eyes tighter, "You know, I've always enjoyed a nice back rub."_

"_How can you joke at a time like this?" I asked her, "Why don't you be serious for once? You're sixteen! Act your age!"_

"_I know," She said, "There's an exit on the other side of this hole."_

"_What about it?"_

"_The only way to get over there is to-" She began, but I cut her off._

"_No!" I said, "I know what you're going to say and the answer is no!"_

"_Melody, it's the only way." She said._

"_You said that last time and I found a way out of it." I said as I began to look around._

"_Not even _your_ brain could think a way out of this. Even if you saved me, there is no other exit out of this place and you know it! Now hurry before something else happens!"_

"_I said no! I am not crawling over you to get to the other side. You'll get hurt even more and I do not want to be responsible for getting you killed!"_

"_Does it look like it will make that much difference to me? All I care about is getting my little sister out safely. Please!"_

_Melody looked behind her as she heard a crash from another falling part of the old barn. The fire had already claimed the part behind them and it was edging closer to block the last exit._

"_Hurry!" Carole said. "I'll even let you try to beat my high score and read my comic books."_

"_Carole!" I said, shocked._

"_What? It's not as if I am able to. Now get over there before I make you!"_

"_How do you plan to do that?"_

"_Oh, I'll find a way… Just promise you won't beat my score by too much."_

"_That's it!" I said as I finally began to try to do as she asked. With each movement, I heard awful sounds of the chicken wire cutting into her skin. She tried not to moan too much, but I knew she was having trouble doing so. As I got closer to the other side, I lost my footing. Carole quickly grabbed hold of me to stop my fall and I felt her blood drip onto me._

"_Thanks," I said as my voice wavered._

"_Hurry…" was all she managed to say in response._

_As I moved to go forward, I glanced down at her arms and saw the imprint the chicken wire had left in her skin. That almost made me freeze, but then I remembered she was still suffering the longer it took me to get across._

_Finally, I crawled over to the other side of the hole and eased off of her. I turned back to look at her just in time to see the ceiling collapse on top of her. Her blood splattered across my face as my tears came back harder then ever._

"_Carole?" I squeaked out. There was no answer. No matter how much I knew she would never answer again, I didn't believe it then. It couldn't be. She couldn't be dead. I called her name a few more times as I thought of how she would never again make me laugh; never again hear her playing her favorite video game in the next room; never again see her smile when I walked into her room._

"_Melody!" I heard my mother scream from outside. She sounded very worried. "Carole! Where are you?" I heard the soft rhythmic voice behind it, also, that gave her beautiful singing voice what it needed most._

"_Melody! Are you alright?"_

&

"Melody!"

"No… Carole…" Melody mumbled. Her cheeks wet with tears.

"Who's Carole?" Leonardo asked. Melody looked up at him wide-eyed.

"Ah… I… Um… She…" She quickly looked down and turned away from him. "No one."

"Don't freeze up now." He said, "Is she your sister?"

"How do you…?"

"I guessed." He said simply, "Tell me what happened, Melody."

"Ah…" She looked into his eyes and said, "I don't know if I can."

"Just try."

"Alright," She looked back down and began her tale. When she finished she said, "It's my entire fault! She died because of me!" She was crying heavily now. Leo looked over at her where he sat next to her.

"No she did not." He said, "It sounds like she wanted you to be safe. She risked her life for you to get out safely. It's not your fault she died. It's her fault you lived."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

"I need to think about this." She said. Leo stood and began to walk away as she added, "Thanks Leo." He stopped and turned back towards her.

"Don't thank me. I just helped you figure out what you knew all along." He said before he walked away. Melody smiled as she watched him. She never remembered being this happy after her sister's death.

**Author's note:** Please review because they make me happy and willing to write more (though it is, basically, completed...)


	5. Purple Dragons Part 1

**Author's note:** This chapter was originally longer, but I felt I had to cut it short. For that reason, the next chapter will put up immediantly afterwards. I actually don't like this part that much. It's mostly a filler chapter.

**Chapter 5:**

The next morning she woke and sat up in bed. It took a few minutes to realize that something was different. Slowly she began to realize what it was. This was the first night she didn't have a dream about Carole. She smiled and stretched to get ready for the day.

She quickly changed and walked out the door. The weather reflected her mood: partly cloudy. Cars rushed by on the streets and people hurried to get to their unknown destinations. She pulled her hood over her face and, holding an oblong bag over her shoulder, she walked towards the park. The short walk felt good. She walked towards the track and looked for a place to put her bag. That's when she saw the man she had personally knocked unconscious two nights ago. He was wearing clothing that would normally hide his identity, but Melody was good at remembering faces and body posture.

She slowly walked towards him and tried to see what he was doing. He seemed to be waiting for someone. Now Melody usually kept to herself, but she had worked up a grudge against this person. He was annoying and sarcastic and her hypocritical-self didn't like anyone who could be remotely similar to herself. That was one of the reasons she didn't like Raphael. He was way too similar to her. She liked to win and would rather leave her mark then run away from a battle of any kind. That way of thinking usually got her into trouble, but she didn't see it that way. To her, they didn't mean a thing. She had forgotten what it felt like to love and be loved in return so she lived her life without care to others. She felt that was the best way to keep her heart from breaking any more.

She noticed another man walk up to the one she was currently watching. His hair was in a braid and she could tell he was muscular under the jacket he was wearing. Melody wondered what they were talking about before they walked off. Her curiosity getting the better of her, she followed them. Both men jumped on motorcycles as she watched. She quickly looked around and saw a boy about twelve getting on a motorized scooter. She ran over and grabbed it out of the boy's hands. She didn't even look back as the boy called after her.

She pushed the scooter to go as fast as possible as she tried to keep the men in sight. She watched as they stopped at an old warehouse. She stepped off the scooter and let it drop to the ground beside her. She rushed forward until she could see the two men clearly. She found a spot where she could view them without them seeing her. She saw more men approach them with the same build.

"So what was it you wanted to talk to me about?" She heard the second man she had followed say. The first man rubbed at the back of his neck where Melody had hit him with her elbow. She smiled as she watched him do this.

"We found a way into the buildin', boss." The first man said.

"Good." The other man said, "Anything else?"

"Yeah," he said as he continued to rub the sore spot, "About that girl who did this to me. She might be easy to find. She seems ta get inta trouble a lot."

"What's your plan?" The other man asked.

"We just need to cause a problem for her. It'll be quite easy to do."

Melody smiled as she thought, _'You'll have to catch me first.'_ She walked back to the scooter and rod off, heading back home. She had to drop off her bag as her outing was now cancelled.

&

She entered her apartment and dropped her bag on a chair.

"So they were planning on doing something to me?" Melody said out loud, "We'll see about that!" She sat down as she thought about the conversation she overheard. "I wonder what building they're planning to break into." She said. Before she could say anymore, she heard a knock at her door. She stood and walked over to the door and opened it, with the chain still locked. She saw nothing but a note on the floor. She reached down and brought it inside. What it said didn't scare her, but it did complicate matters. She decided it was time to take a trip through the sewers.

&

Melody hopped down the rest of the ladder and the sewer water splashed, drenching her pant legs. She scowled and began to look for any signs that could lead her to the turtles. She knew what they would need to make a part of the sewers their home. With that thought in mind, she kept looking. She followed a path she thought might lead to them. It looked promising to her, but she didn't get her hopes up.

The walk helped to get her thoughts together. She planed to just tell Leonardo and she hoped Raphael would not be there. She stopped, suddenly, when she saw part of the sewer where there could have been a dwelling. When she looked into the opening, she saw what probably would have been the turtles dwelling. The way it looked, it could have been vacated a long time ago. She frowned as she walked inside.

The place was a mess inside. There were signs of a battle that had gone on. Melody wondered what could have happened here. She guessed that, if the turtles did indeed live here once, then their enemies must have found them. She would have wanted to investigate further, but she still had to find where the turtles live now.

She left and followed another path of the twisting paths of the sewers. It seemed to go on forever and it probably did. After a while, Melody caught the smell of pizza in the air. She followed it until she began to hear a voice. When she got close enough, she saw the turtle with the orange bandana.

"Must resist temptation." He was saying, "Must ignore scent of wonderful pizza." She watched him open the box and look at the pizza. "Maybe if I take one slice… No!" He said as he quickly closed it again, "I will not! I am stronger then that! This pizza will not be the boss of me!"

Melody chuckled silently before she managed to catch herself. She couldn't help but think that this turtle reminded her of her sister…

&

_We were supposed to bring the box of pizza straight home. That's what our parents told us to do before we left, but Carole was having trouble._

"_I know we're not supposed to, but if we have one slice each they wouldn't mind." Carole said._

"_Carole!" I said laughing at the look on her face, "If we have one each, we'll have the temptation to have it all."_

"_Yeah, well," Carole began, "It was just a thought."_

"_You still want some don't you?" I asked as I watched her staring at the box._

"_Yes," she said._

"_Well, let's play a game so we can forget about it."_

&

Melody smiled at the memory. She remembered that they did make it home with the pizza, but it was close. She looked around for the turtle and found he was no longer there. She looked around for him and spotted him a mile ahead of her. She had decided to follow him. It would give her more time to talk to Leo.

**Author's not:** So what do you think? NOTE: the place she found was one of their old lairs. The one that was blown up from one of the past episodes. Please review. It makes me post new chapters faster!


	6. Purple Dragons Part 2

**Author's note:** Here's the second half of it. Mikey makes me laugh in this chapter... This is when things start getting interesting. (Melody: ...interesting? I hate your sense of humor...) Enjoy!

**Chapter 6:**

She had finally made it. She happily followed the turtle through the entrance. He still hadn't noticed her, but the turtle named Donny did. He was the only one currently in the room and he looked up as they entered.

"What are you doing here?" He asked.

The other turtle looked around and saw her. "Hey! When did you get here?" He asked.

"I'm guessing she followed you, Mikey." Donny said.

"Yeah, I did." Melody said, "But I could have found it on my own. I just didn't have the time to look."

"Why do you think that?"

"Because I knew where you would need to live to be able to get what you needed and get to where you need to be."

"Yeah, she is now considered creepy." Mikey said.

"I'll show you creepy! Just look in the mirror one day!" Melody said, harshly.

"Ouch," Mikey said looking hurt, "Another Raph."

Melody punched Mikey in the face and said, "Never compare me to him, you got that!"

"Whoa! Calm down!" Donny said. He didn't try to restrain her, because he knew it was no use trying too. "So what did you want?"

"Where's Leo?" Melody said, "I need to talk to him."

"Why-" He asked but Melody cut him off with a look, "Alright! I'll find him. I think he's in the dojo. Wait here." He said before he walked off.

"That hurt, you know." Mikey said as he rubbed his chin.

"Well maybe it will teach you something." Melody responded just as Donny returned with Leo.

"What did you want?" Leo asked.

"Come," Melody said as she led him out of the sewers, "I need to show you something."

Melody leaned against the wall in an alleyway waiting for Leo to talk first.

"So, what's up?" Leo said as he walked forward.

"This," Melody said as she handed it over to Leo.

Leo began to read it out loud. "'mis sunshin'' Leo looked up at Melody to see the anger on her face, "'we hav a problem wit u beetin' up are boyz and stinkin' yo nose in otha people's buziness and we wood lik ta talk to ya of thiz problem met us at the abonded werehouze in broklin com alon at midnit and no funny stuf'. Wow that took effort."

"This is bad..." Melody said.

"Yeah, they made like twenty-three mistakes in this." He said, "This makes illiterate people look bad."

"I'm not talking about the letter," Melody said as she snatched it away from him.

"I know," he said, "Well, it is fifteen minutes till midnight. We better get going."

"What? Wait! No!" Melody said, "You're not coming!"

"Why not?"

"They want me to come alone!"

"So?" Leo said, "They always say something like that."

"Well I am going alone! I don't need a-" She said before Leo cut her off.

"Don't say it!" Leo said, "I can help you no matter what I am."

"I don't need your help. I just wanted to let you know I'm going."

"Well thanks for that, but I'm still going."

"What if they catch you?"

"They won't. I'm a ninja remember?"

"Alright!" She said, "Come on..."

They arrived at the warehouse together. There were no lights on as far they could see.

"Alright, I'm going in." Melody said as she stepped forward, "And you're staying here."

"I'm coming in to," Leo said, "You're not getting rid of me that easily."

"You know, I don't want to argue," Melody turned to look at him, "Keep hidden. I'm doing the talking."

"Whatever," Leo said, grumpily.

Melody walked into the building and looked around. No one seemed to be there, but she had a feeling there were just out of sight. She folded her arms across her chest and said, "Alright I'm here, what do you want?" When no one answered she said, "I know your there, dickheads."

"Ya know that wasn't very nice." The man with the braid Melody had seen earlier said as he walked out of the shadows.

"It wasn't?" Melody said, dripping with sarcasm, "Hmm... I better work on that then."

"Why don't ya learn yer manners first." He said.

"From you?" Melody laughed, "Oh that'll be the day!"

"You've just signed your gravestone, sunshine." He said as he stepped forward.

"No, I think you just did actually," Melody said as she kicked him where the sun don't shine. "No one calls me sunshine!"

"Get her!" He said as he waved his hand over his shoulder and tried to recover from the blow.

"Oh this will be fun!" Melody said as she saw Leo walk into view from the corner of her eye.

He stood in front of her as he said, "You'll have to go through me first!" He got into his fighting stance. Melody glared at his shell with annoyance.

"I thought I told you I could handle this." Melody said.

"I bet you could," he said without fully meaning it, "But you'll need me to even the odds a little."

"Fine, but don't get in my way!" She said as she kicked one of the punks in her favorite spot. Leo watched her as he fought too and noticed she fought dirty. She usually aimed in places where guys are sure to drop to their feet and she seemed to enjoy it. He continued to fight them off halfheartedly. He was more interested in watching Melody. As he watched, one of the men came up behind her. Leo hurried over and blocked his attack with his katana.

"Maybe you should watch your back, Melody." Leo said as he fought off the man.

"Yeah, maybe you should too," she said as she elbowed one that was just about to hit Leo in the middle of his shell.

Melody was kind of enjoying herself. She felt like she was in a dream: invincible to the world around her. That was until she felt a very real pain to her head. She suddenly got dizzy, but she didn't let that get to her. She continued to fight even though her moves were sluggish and the noises around her sounded from far off. She heard Leo call her name and she turned just in time to see one of the gangsters club him in the back of his head with a crowbar. She watched him fall to the floor as she felt one of the guys punch her again. This time she couldn't fight at all and she had to let them drag her away.

**Author's note:** Is this a cliffhanger? I don't do so many of those... At least Melody's tough, right? Hehe...


	7. Rescue Mission

**Author's note:** Here's more! There's a part in this chapter I don't necessarily like, but I do like the way it began. So, read on!

**Chapter 7:**

Leo slowly woke up to find himself on the floor without exactly knowing how he got there. He stood and almost fell back down again. He slowly found his way to the sewers and slipped down to the ground. He found his way to the lair and leaned against the entrance.

"Leo!" Three voices said at once. "What happened?" Raph asked.

"What does it look like?" Leo said. He stumbled into the room. Donny ran forward and caught him before he fell.

"You look terrible!" Donny said.

"Yeah, did you actually let somebody beat you?" Raph said. "I can't believe it!"

"Shut up," Leo said as he tried to stand on his own.

"Come on, Leo." Donny said as he led him into his lab.

"No, I've got to find Melody." Leo said, trying to pull away from his brother, but Donny held firm.

"That little cold-hearted witch?!" Raph said, "Is that where you were? With her?"

"Don't call her that," Leo said, "She's not cold-hearted."

"Yes she is," Raph said, "You just don't see it 'cause you don't want to see it. She has ya wrapped around 'er finger."

"Raph!" Donny said as he applied bandages to Leo's wound. "Give him a break!"

"She doesn't care 'bout you!" Raph continued. "She doesn't care about anyone! She's goin' ta hurt ya one day and you're not going to know what hitcha!"

"You don't know anything!" Leo snapped at him and quickly walked over to him. "You may think you do, but you don't!"

"Guys! Calm down!" Donny yelled, but he was ignored.

"I think you'll get a better response if you were talkin' to a wall." Mikey said.

"Shut up, Mikey," Donny said, "You're not helpin'"

"Well then go save your princess!" Raph yelled. "And I'll remember to laugh when you fall on your face."

Instead of responding, Leo walked out of the lair. He had just reached the ladder when he heard footsteps behind him. He turned and saw Michelangelo and Donatello walking up to him.

"What do you want?" Leo said warily.

"We came to fight with you." Donny said.

"Yeah, we're not goin' to let you fight anyone on your own." Mikey said.

"Where's Raph?" Leo asked.

"He stayed behind." Mikey said, "For some reason he wanted to miss out on some major bad guy butt kickin'."

"All right," He said, "Come on."

"Hold it!" A voice called. They all turned and saw Raph walking forward. "I'm comin' to. I don't want ta miss out on anythin', but you're savin' her mostly by yourself. Got it?"

"Got it." Leo said, "Just come on."

&

Melody was barely conscious. Voices swam in and out of focus. She couldn't tell how many people were in the room, but she knew they were there.

"…you have it…?"

"…fifteen minutes…"

"…leave her…?"

"…be rid of her…"

"…It's armed…"

Then the voices had gone to be replaced by an annoying ticking noise…

&

The turtles found her in another abandoned warehouse south of the original meeting place. She was chained to a pillar in the center of the room. She did not look up as they entered.

"No one's here." Raph said, disappointedly.

"It's the mysterious ticking noise!" Mikey said.

"I think I hear a bomb somewhere…" Donny said as he began to look around for the source of the noise.

"Are you alright, Melody?" Leo asked as he ran over towards her.

"Fifteen minutes…" Melody mumbled. "They said fifteen minutes…"

"Fifteen minutes to what?" He asked.

"I found the bomb!" Donny yelled from across the room.

"Well, disarm it then!" Raph yelled back.

"I'm tryin' to!"

"Don't be grumpy just because there's no one to fight." Mikey said.

"Shut up Mikey." Raph said.

"We only have one minute," Donny said.

"Well hurry," Raph said. He was obviously annoyed as he folded his arms in front of him.

"Are you done yet?" Mikey asked as he watched Donny impatiently.

"No," Donny said, annoyed. "Leo, I think you should hurry and untie her. I have a feeling' we don't have much time." Leo nodded and cut the chains holding her with his katana.

"Are you done yet?" Mikey asked again.

"No!" Donny said.

"Ten seconds…" Raph said.

"Are you done ye-et?" Mikey asked.

"We have to get out of here." Donny said. "I can't disable it in time."

"Right," Raph said as he led them through the window of the building. Leo quickly picked Melody up one-handedly as Donny and Mikey quickly ran through the window. As they were in the air, the building exploded behind them sending them flying through the air. They landed hard on the ground. Leo quickly stood and looked around.

"Is everyone alright?" He asked.

"I'm alright…" Donny said as he slowly stood. Raph didn't answer as he walked towards them.

"Where's Mikey?" Leo asked as he noticed he didn't see him.

"Over here…" Mikey's voice said, "But I could use some help getting out from under this brick wall that fell on me." The turtles hurried to him and helped him out of the rubble.

**Author's note:** Hehe... Mikey's last line is funny to me. Oh, I can't wait to post the next chapter! Please review! (If you do, I might read your fics as well...)


	8. Teasing Mikey

**Author's note:** Hehe... This chapter has Melody interacting with Mikey! Sorry this story gets a little OOC. Someone pointed that out to me. This was my second TMNT fan-fic people! SECOND! And it just happened to be written when I didn't know so much about them! So they're a little OOC. Big deal. Anyway, Leo is OOC right now because of Melody! You know when you're in love, you act differently? Well, that's what happened with him! Okay, I think that actually got to me... I try to use negative critism and be alright with it. I could've re-did the whole story, but I didn't want to. It's done and yer gonna have to deal with it. If you don't like it when the characters are OOC, read Messages on the Wall. It was my most recent story... Maybe among the...seventh?...fan-fic I wrote. I was more experienced with the characters then. Sorry 'bout the rant guys. Go on and read it now...

**Chapter 8:**

Melody woke up to find herself once again in the turtles' lair. She sat up holding her head and looked around. She had never been in this room before. In the corner of the room, her eyes landed on Leo. He was asleep in a chair.

"I'm I that boring?" Melody said. At the sound of her voice, Leo snapped awake and fell out of the chair. "Are you alright?"

"Yes, yes I'm fine." Leo said, quickly, as he set the chair back up and sat down.

"Were you there the whole time?" Melody said.

"Uh…" Leo said, "So, you're alright?"

"So, you were?" Melody said, "Thanks for caring, but I'm alright. So, what happened to you?"

"Those purple dragons did this to me."

"They hit you that hard?"

"Hey!" Mikey's voice called from outside the room, "Could someone find the remote for the television for me so I don't have to get up?"

"Why don't you get it yourself?!" Donny yelled back.

"I'm supposed to stay off my leg!" Mikey yelled. "I can't walk on it anyway!"

"It's not that bad!" Donny yelled.

"You wouldn't be saying that if you were me right now!"

"What happened to him?" Melody asked.

"He broke his leg in the explosion we saved you from." Leo answered her. "He's been annoying Donny all day about it."

Melody stood and walked towards the entrance of the room. "Really?" She asked. She walked out and smiled when she saw Mikey lying casually on the couch. His injured leg propped up on the arm of it. Donny entered the room shortly afterwards. Melody could tell he was angry. He grabbed the remote for the television off a table and almost slammed it into Mikey's hands.

"There!" He said, angrily.

"Is he really that bad?" Melody asked Donny as he walked by her.

"He won't stop interrupting me in my work!" Donny said. He turned to Leo and said, "Why don't you help him now?"

"Where's Raph?" Leo asked.

"He left a few hours ago." He said. "I don't think he wanted to be here when she woke up."

"Alright, I'll take care of it. You can get back to work."

"I'm hungry," Mikey called. "Can someone get pizza?"

Donny rolled his eyes at this and disappeared back inside the room he had come out of. Leo walked over to Mikey.

"I'll get it for you." He said and then he turned and left. Melody walked over to Mikey then and folded her arms across her chest.

"So you're using your brothers?" She said, "I bet your leg isn't even that bad."

"I'm tellin' you, it is!" Mikey said.

"Mm-hmm…" She said slowly, "I can see the lie written on your face. I remember my sister Carole did something like that before. Except with her, we did it together."

"Your sister?"

"Yeah, about a few years before she died. She was four years older then me and she acted a lot like you." She looked over at the television and smiled. "You actually watch that?"

"What?" Mikey looked at it too.

"That show is so predictable!" Melody said, "Move over." Mikey didn't move an inch.

"It's not predictable." He said, lamely.

"Move!" She said as she sat down hard on his legs and began to squeeze his broken leg.

"Ow, ouch!" Mikey screamed.

"Are you going to move?" She said, smiling.

"Yes! Yes! Just let go! Please!"

"Good." Melody smiled and released him. Mikey moved over grumpily and she sat down next to him.

&

Leo returned with the pizza to see Melody criticizing the show Mikey was watching. He had to smile as he watched Mikey try to defend the show.

"Come on!" Melody said, "How could you not see that coming? It's so obvious!"

"It could have turned out differently," Mikey complained.

"But it didn't," She said.

"I see you two are getting along alright," Leo said as he set the pizza down in Mikey's reach.

"She's tearin' apart my favorite show!" Mikey said, "And she's takin' up too much space!"

"I am not!" Melody said, "You're just being selfish."

"Tell that to my broken leg." Mikey responded.

Donny walked back into the room as they were talking. "He's stop ordering us around 'cause he's too busy arguing with Melody." He told Leo. "I kind of enjoy it."

"Want some pizza?" Leo asked, holding out the box. Donny took a slice just as Raphael entered the room.

"Where have you been?" Leo asked. Raph ignored him and took a slice of pizza from the box. Melody looked over at them, but did not say anything.

"I was takin' out the trash when I found this." He held up a computer disk and handed it to Donny. "I thought you might want to look into it." He explained how he found it.

"'Takin' out the trash'?" Mikey said. "For three hours?"

"Hey, there was a lot of trash to take care of." Raph said, "Including this disgustin' green thing with this little bit of orange around it… I still haven't taken care of that…"

"Hey!" Mikey said a little late.

"Well, I'll go look into this," Donny said as he walked away. Melody followed him into a lab full of mechanical instruments. Donny pushed the disk into the disk drive of one of the computers and opened the file. A window opened that encouraged him to type in a password. "A password?" Donny asked aloud.

"Maybe I could help," Melody said as she pulled up a chair. Donny turned towards her. "I'm pretty good at cracking passwords." She pushed him aside and began typing words into the computer. Five minutes later, a widow popped up that read 'Password accepted'. "There!" She said as she sat back and smiled.

"Wow, thanks." Donny said. He got back on the computer and started analyzing the data.

"It looks like they are trying to create a meteor shower." Melody said.

"It is worse," He said, "They are trying to lure a meteor the size of a small planet into our atmosphere. There's no way our planet could survive that if they manage it."

"I guess you'll have to do something." Melody said.

"Yeah," Donny turned to look at Melody. "You could help."

"Yeah, I could," She said, "But what would be in it for me?"

"Saving a lot of innocent people for one thing," He said, "Including you."

"I'm sure you guys could handle it."

"Probably, but we could always use some help."

"Not with Raphael around." She folded her arms across her chest defiantly.

"He'd probably agree with you there," He said, "But you shouldn't worry 'bout him. He can never resist a good fight."

"That's obvious." She said as Leo walked into the room.

"Melody," Leo said, "You need to learn how to fight."

"You're going to have to make it quick, Leo," Donny said, "There's not that much time left."

"I'm sure she can manage it."

**Author's note:** Alright. Review. Don't worry 'bout making your review negative. I didn't know I would rant like that. I was only going to mention it in passing... I can't wait 'til this really gets going! She'll have to train first, but then it's the climax I've been waiting for!


	9. Training turned bad

**Author's note:** I decided to combine to chapters to make one. It's all basically under the same category and I really wanted to get to the climax! I got a review asking about Melody's parents and I want all you readers out there to know, Melody ran away a long time ago. They don't know where she is during this whole story (She makes sure of this).

**Chapter 9:**

"Come on, concentrate." Leo's voice said. "Listen to your surroundings."

Melody turned one way and then the other. The blindfold tied around her eyes made it impossible to see. "Do I have to wear this?" She asked him.

"Yes," Leo said, wearily, "Just try ta concentrate."

Melody was trying to find Leonardo, but she kept tripping over obstacles. Leo was supposed to be blindfolded too, but he seemed to find her easily. She thought it might have something to do with all the noise she was making. She walked forward towards where she thought she heard Leo.

"Ouch! That's my foot!" Mikey's voice said. Melody apologized, rudely, and continued the process of finding Leo. Suddenly, for the tenth time she felt Leo wrap his arms around her waist.

"Ya lost again." He said. "Come on, I know you can do this, Melody. I've noticed you've gotten a little better at keepin' quiet." He released her quickly after that. "Now concentrate. We'll start again."

"Why do you hold so much trust in her, Leo?" Raph's voice said. "I haven't seen any change. She's as clumsy as she was when she first started."

"Why you…!" Melody said as she tried to run towards him, but ended up tripping over something else. She landed flat on her face and she heard Raphael began to laugh.

"Pathetic!" He said though his laughing.

"Raph!" Leo said, "Stop distracting her! She's training!"

"It's not like she's gettin' any better." He said.

"That's it!" Melody yelled. She ran at him again and this time she managed to land a hard punch to his face. Before she could do anymore then punch him twice more, she felt her fist held back.

"Melody, calm down," Leo said. He pulled the blindfold off of her and turned her towards him with his other hand. "Don't let your anger corrupt you." He turned towards Raphael, "And you need to stop instigatin' her. It's hard enough to train someone within three days without you complicatin' matters."

"Well sorry Splinter Jr." He said as he turned around and walked away. Leo stared at his back as he left which gave Melody the impression he didn't like that nickname.

"Your trainin's over for today." He said before he too walked away. Melody stayed behind as Donny walked towards her.

"Ya know," Donny said, "They seem to fight more now then they did before you arrived. Leo must really care for ya."

"Hmm," Melody simply said in response. The idea that someone actually cared for her only confused her. She had been alone for too long and she didn't know if she could afford to open her heart to someone else. She was afraid what little of it left would break if she did and she couldn't go through that again.

"Melody," Donny said as he looked at her. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." Melody said. She tried to smile before she walked away and out through the door to the lair. She planned to forget about the turtles. She didn't need them anyway. Michelangelo will finally enjoy watching his shows without her criticizing them. Donatello will be able to work without her interrupting him. Leonardo will be able to concentrate on his training without worrying about helping her. And Raphael? He'll probably love the idea that she left. Melody stopped walking as a thought crossed her mind. Did she really care that Raph would be happy? An image of him laughing at something funny entered her mind and she cringed. She hated the idea that he'll be happy. She enjoyed making him miserable.

No! She wasn't going back. She'd already managed to get about ten miles away and she wasn't going to stop; especially for Raph. She didn't care about him. Why should she? He was just a meaningless pawn in her life. Why should she care if he's happy? She would be happy too if she didn't have to deal with him everyday. But she knew it was a lie. Deep down, she knew it. The sight of him angry made her smile.

Why is she leaving anyway? Is it because she was scared to fall in love or was it because Raph had scared her away? No! It couldn't be either one. She is not scared of anything or anyone! No one can get her down! No one! But again, this was a lie. She was scared of…

"Melody?"

She turned and saw Leo running up to her. He looked exhausted, which led her to believe he had run the whole way. "Donny told me…you left…" He said between breaths as he leaned against the wall of the sewer.

"Why did you run here?" Melody asked.

"I love you Melody." He said. He saw her take a step towards the ladder behind her. "Is that why you're plannin' to run away? Does that…does that scare you?" She didn't answer so he took that as a yes. "Please come back. A ninja doesn't…run from fear." He handed her a brown bandana. "I was going ta…give you this later, but…now is as good as…any other time." She took the bandana and looked down at it with wide eyes. "I know you're not a coward, Melody."

She looked at him as he continued to breathe deeply, "Alright…" She said as she turned away from him, "I'll return on one condition…"

&

"Raph, will ya stay away from the dojo today?" Leo asked him, "Melody's trainin' again and I know you would rather do somethin' else."

"Whose idea is that?" Raph asked. "Yours or hers?"

"It doesn't matter," Leo said, "Just please find somethin' else to do?"

"Hmph," Raph said, "I think I have somethin' better to do anyway."

"Thanks, Raph." Leo said as he watched him walk out of the lair. He walked over to the dojo and towards Melody who was waiting for him. "Alright, he's gone."

"Good," She said.

"Let's start trainin' then," He said with a hint of sadness in his voice.

&

A few days later, she had finally managed to show a lot of improvement. She wasn't perfect of course, but she had leaned the basics. Leo called for a break with a smile on his face.

"You're doin' great, Melody!" He said, happily. Melody smiled as she walked over to him.

"You think so?" She asked.

"Yeah, ya-" He began before he was cut off.

"I still think she's pathetic." They both turned to see Raphael leaning against the wall. "She's definitely no ninja." He was saying, "I don't know why ya bother."

"She's only a beginner Raphael." Leo said, "What do you expect? She'll get better with time!"

"I'm guessing it'll take seventeen years before she's even close ta our skill." He said. "And I meant closer."

"She's a fast learner." Leo said, angrily.

"Hmm," He said, "It doesn't look like it. Your princess is still as worthless as she was before you picked her up from the street."

"Do you have a death wish?" Melody said, "No one calls me princess!"

"Melody, calm down." Leo said as he laid a hand on her shoulder. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath before he addressed Raph, "You're way out of line Raphael."

"Does it look like I care?" He said, "Your girlfriend is as good as dead to me. She is a heartless witch no better then the purple dragons. I bet that dead sister of hers is glad she finally doesn't have ta live with her anymore. I know how she feels. I wouldn't want her as a sister either. She probably got killed so she wouldn't have to live with her. Unless she's a stupid little girl like-" but the rest of what he said was lost as Melody grabbed Leo's katana off a table and ran at Raph with madness in her eyes. She swung the katana downwards ready to kill him. Leo stepped in her way and received the blow himself. When Melody saw what she did, she slowly backed up. The katana had left a long and deep gash in Leo's arm. She dropped the katana and quickly ran out of the room and out of the lair.

Leo closed his eyes against the pain in his arm before he checked the damage. He knew he should wrap it up, but he didn't have time. He picked up his katana and wiped his blood off of it. Then he placed it in his sheath along with his other one.

"Where are you goin'?" Raph asked from behind him.

"I've got ta go find her." Leo said.

"After she cut your arm open?" Raph said, skeptically.

"She didn't mean it. She was just angry."

"She almost killed me!" Raph said. "You can't say she didn't mean that!"

Leo turned sharply towards him, "You angered her. It was wrong of you to say that about her sister!"

"So what?" Raph said, "That doesn't mean she has the right ta attack me like that!"

"I've got ta go to her," Leo said. Raph held him back by grabbing Leo's uninjured arm.

"What is wrong wit'cha?" He said. "Ever since ya met her, you have been actin' different. Do ya even know what you're doin' to yourself?"

"What's goin' on out here?" Donny said as he entered the room closely followed by Mikey. They both looked at the two of them and then Donny asked, "Leo, what happened to your arm?"

"Let go, Raph," Leo said to him as he yanked his arm out of his grasp. "I'm leavin'!"

"Shouldn't ya bandage that up first?" Donny asked.

"I don't have time." He said as he ran out of the lair after Melody.

&

He soon found her standing on the roof of an office building. She was looking into the night sky with her back to him.

"Go away, Leo." She said without turning around. "I want to be left alone."

"Melody, I know you didn't mean what you did." Leo said.

"I said go away."

"Please listen to me," He pleaded. "It was an accident."

"No, it wasn't, Leonardo!" She said, "I meant to kill Raphael. I almost did it too if you hadn't gotten in the way. I don't deserve your sympathy." Leo thought he heard a catch in her voice, but he wasn't sure.

"Melody, don'tcha worry 'bout that!"

"I almost killed your brother and you're willing to forgive me so soon!" She said as she turned to look at him. "I wouldn't be so forgiving if it was my sister!"

"But I know ya didn't mean to do it!" Leo said. He watched her glance over at his injured arm before she quickly turned away. He hid his arm behind his shell before saying, "Look at me, Melody." She turned back towards him as he continued. "I know ya wouldn't do somethin' like that if Raph hadn't said that about your sister. He was out of line. You responded the same way anyone would in that situation."

"I still would have killed your brother. Don't you hate me?"

"No, it's not good to dwell on the past. What's done is done and we can't change it. It's over and ya didn't kill him."

"I would've…"

"But you didn't." Leo repeated as he brushed a tear off her cheek.

"Aw, how sweet!" Someone said from behind them. They both turned to see ninjas surrounding them. "Are we interrupting anything?" A ninja said.

"The Foot…" Leo said, angrily. "What'd ya want?"

"We want your little girlfriend there." He said. "How 'bout it, lady?" A ninja behind them reached towards Melody, but Leo slashed him with his katana.

"Don't touch her!" Leo said.

"Then I guess we're gonna have ta do it the hard way."

As the ninjas advanced towards them, Leo handed Melody one of his katanas and pulled out his second one for him to use. He knew he couldn't wield his katana with his injured arm anyway.

Together, they tried to fight them off. Melody subconsciously fought using her newly acquired ninja skills. She had never fought with anything but her fists and she found the katana awkward in her hands, but she still managed to bring down a fair share of ninjas.

Leo was having his own problems as he tried to fight one-handed. Every time something or someone touched his injured arm, the pain intensified. He also knew he was losing a fair amount of blood. Donny was right. He should have bandaged it up before he left, but if he had, the Foot would have taken Melody and he would have never known until it was too late.

Leo finished with the last ninja. Against all odds, they had won. Melody walked up to him and noticed he was breathing heavily just as he fell to his knees.

"Are you alright, Leo?" Melody asked him.

"Yeah…" Leo said, "Yeah, I'm fine."

"I guess we better get-" But she never finished. Leo's eyes widen as he watched her fall to her knees and then land face-first on the ground.

"Melody? Melody!" Leo stood and kneeled over her. Later, he would be mad at himself when he found out he was completely unaware that a ninja had walked up behind him and knocked him easily to the ground.

**Author's note:** Is this another cliff-hanger? I guess it is...hmmm... Well at least brings the climax closer and makes this chapter less boring with all the action! This shows how...ah...'whipped' Leo is at this point... What do you think? Do you hate me for the cliff-hanger? Please review!


	10. Meeting the Shredder

**Author's note:** Cliffhanger is over! I update this fairly quickly... This is when things start to get interesting! Beginniging of the climax. Yay! They're will be two more chapters after this then it will be completed. For those you like my story: I know, sad isn't it? For those who don't: Ack! Go read something else if you don't like it!

**Chapter 10:**

Melody slowly opened her eyes. She found herself in a room that had no windows. There were bars blocking the only exit. She tried to stand, but she found that she was chained to the wall and the floor. In the corner of the room, she saw Leonardo unconscious. He was chained to the wall behind him. Melody tried to call out to him, but she had a gag around her mouth that made it impossible.

She turned back towards the entrance when she heard someone unlocking the door. A man she did not know entered the room. She bet to any normal girl, he would look kind of intimidating, but Melody just thought he looked like he was compensating for something. The second man she did recognize. He was the leader of those purple dragons.

"It's good you are awake, Ms. Song," He said, "I am the Shredder and I think you have met Hun here."

"What do you want?" Melody said as soon as he pulled the gag down.

"I know the turtles have something of mine and I want it back. The computer disk is very important to me."

"If you think I am going to steal it for you then you are talking to the wrong person." Melody said, "I see nothing in it for me."

"How about the life of your boyfriend?" Shredder asked. Melody watched as Hun pulled Leo's head back by his bandana and held a dagger to his throat. "I will kill him right now if you do not agree to my terms."

"You'd probably kill him anyway." Melody said. "Why should I trust you?"

"You don't know that." He said, "I'd agree if I were you." The dagger dug deeper into Leo's neck and Melody saw a trickle of blood drip down.

"Alright!" Melody said, "Alright, I'll do it!" She looked down in defeat.

"I'm going to let you go. You will steal the disk and return it to me. To ensure that you do not back out, I will inject this virus that I can activate." He took out a syringe and passed it to Hun. "If I find out you went against me I will activate it. I guess he will have a half an hour left to live after that." Melody helplessly watched as Hun injected the virus into Leo's arm.

&

About three hours later, Melody stumbled into the turtles' lair. She heard voices coming from, what she assumed was, Donny's lab. She walked closer so she could hear what they were saying.

"What's this?" Mikey's voice said, "What's this?"

"Put that down, Mikey!" Donny's voice said. "Especially that!"

"This?"

"Yes, that!" He said, "No! Put it down!"

"Ooh! That looks rockin', dude!"

"No-" Melody heard a small explosion. "Michelangelo! Just get out of my lab!"

"Whoa! Does it do anythin' else?"

"OUT!"

Melody chose to enter then. Mikey was the first to notice her. He was standing on the opposite side of the room. She saw scorch marks on the table beside him.

"Hey dudette!" Mikey said. Donny turned towards her. She saw more scorch marks on his face.

"Melody?" He said, "What happened to you and where is Leo?"

"I only just made it away." Melody said, "They captured Leo."

"Who?"

"The Foot. You have to hurry. They might kill him." After that, she fell to her knees. The lie she was telling seemed to increase her pain. Before they let her go, they had beaten her up to make it look like she only just got away. Her chest hurt and she had a feeling her leg might be broken. Those were only her worst injuries.

"Those injuries look bad…" Donny said.

"No, I'm fine." She said, "Leo needs help now."

"Ah… I'll find Raph then," Donny said, "He's probably out fightin'. You can go with Mikey."

Melody nodded and watched Donny leave the room.

"Come on, dudette!" Mikey said as he left. Melody checked that they were gone then sneaked the computer disk into her pocket. For the first time she felt bad about what she was doing, but she had no time to think about it. Mikey had returned to the room. "Are ya comin' or not?" He said.

"Yeah," Melody said and she quickly followed him out.

&

Mikey and Melody met up with Donny and Raph at the entrance to Foot headquarters.

"Do ya know where they are holdin' him?" Donny asked.

"Yes," Melody said.

"Mikey and I will cover ya as you and Donny get Leo." Raph said.

"Who made you boss?" Melody asked.

"It doesn't matter," Donny said, "Come on, Melody."

Melody led Donny into Foot Headquarters. She felt for the disk in her pocket. She was starting to get second thoughts about giving it to Shredder. While she was thinking, they arrived at their destination. Donny managed to break the lock and he entered the small room beyond. She was surprised to see Leo was still unconscious. They must have hit him hard. Donny was trying to wake him up when Melody made up her mind. As she walked away, she heard Leo moan. She turned to see him staring right at her. She sadly smiled and walked out of his sight.

She made a stop at a small sort of lab for about a few minutes, and then went to search for Shredder. She found him at the top floor of the building. He noticed her enter and she held out the disk for him to see.

"Ah, so you did return." He said, "Now hand it to me and we shall see if you didn't tamper with it." Melody handed it to him and he walked out of the room. A few minutes later, he returned. "Congratulations. He may live another day. It is not over yet, though. I don't want to see you with them. If you disobey me, you know what will happen."

"Yes," Melody said. She walked back out of the room.

**Author's note:** Poor Melody... (Melody: So you do care?) (Me: Ah yeah! You are my OC!) (Melody: With what you do to me and Leo...I highly doubt it) (Me: smiles) Please review! Then you can find out what's with Melody!


	11. The Final Clash!

**Author's note:** Alright, here's the next chapter. Only one more left! A little bit of Melody/Raphael interaction. Raph acts a little OOC in the last part, but sense the part is funny, I didn't get rid of it. Hmmm... What else is there to say...except Mel's weapon is SO awesome! First part is mostly tedious information needed for the story... Read on!

**Chapter 11:**

She obeyed him for only two weeks. During that time, she prepared for the battle that will began on her return. She had been studying the information on the original computer disk. By now, she knew exactly when the meter would enter the Earth's atmosphere and she wouldn't let that happen. She knew how to destroy it before it became a problem and when to do it.

She had also mixed a serum that will destroy the virus they had placed in Leo, but it would not be ready until the battle she had planned would be in full force. She was sure it would work. She had programmed her watch to beep when the time was right. She just hoped it wouldn't be too late.

She had also built a weapon. It was her prize procession. It had four buttons at the top that could change it to fit her needs. The first one (a circle) could change it from a three-part nunchuku to a Bo staff and vise-versa. By pulling it apart, she can also make it into two nunchukus. The second (also a circle) will cause a dagger to snap in place in one end while the third button (again a circle) will cause a second to snap in place on the other end. The fourth and last button (this time a square) will electrify it. For the last modification, she had made gloves that go halfway to her elbow that is resistant to electricity. The metal it is made of is unbreakable and lightweight. It took a week to master it, but she felt it was worth the effort she had put into it.

An anonymous message had been left for the turtles to warn them the battle had begun. It was time. She tied her brown bandana around her eyes ready for battle. She placed her weapon inside a pouch attached to her belt and her gloves were pulled up her arms. The serum she placed in another pouch in her belt. She checked to make sure she had everything and then she left her apartment.

&

When she arrived, the turtles were already fighting the Foot, just as she planned. She pulled out her weapon and electrified it. She separated it and began spinning it. A ninja saw her causing her to smile and she began fighting. She found she was having fun, but she didn't want to get too wrapped up in it. She still had a job to do.

She saw Leo fight his way over to her. "Where'd ya disappear to for the last two weeks?" He asked her.

"Why does it matter?" Melody said, evading the question. She turned away from him and electrocuted the ninja beside her. "You were fine, right?"

"That's not the point." He said, "You left."

"That's right." She said. There was no use denying it. "But there was a good reason for it."

"What reason?"

"Leo… Now's not the time…"

"What reason?" He said more urgently.

"For your own safety, please!" She said as she turned back to him, leaving an unconscious ninja in her wake. "Forget it!"

"Not until you explain yourself." He said as he knocked down another ninja.

"Alright! You want to know why I left? Why I stayed away for two weeks?" Melody shouted. "I will tell you! But not here! Come on!" She dragged Leo away from the battle into an abandoned building. "Now get comfortable, because it's going to be a long story!" Leo could tell she was angry, but he was too. He folded his arms and leaned against the wall. Melody began her tale, "Shredder forced me to. He said… He said he'd kill you if I didn't agree. He could still do that but I had to do something."

"You don't have to worry 'bout me, Mel." He said, "I can take care of myself."

"Not this time." She said. Her anger now melted away. "Not with the virus he injected into you."

"What virus?" He asked as he stood up straight.

"I'll show you." She said. She brought out a strange gadget out of the pouch in her belt. It had a mini-screen on it. She held it close to him and instructed him to look at the screen. It showed him everything he needed to know.

"That's inside of me?" He asked as he pointed to the screen.

"Yes," She said, "Shredder can activate it anytime he chooses. It would take only a half-hour to kill you. I have the anti-virus with me, but it's not ready yet." She checked her watch, "Less then an hour and a half left needed for it to mature."

"Now you're talkin' like Don." He said. "Let's get back ta fightin' then." He led the way back onto the battlefield. They started fighting soon after they returned. Melody knocked down a ninja who seemed to have a death wish leaving her with time to check her surroundings. Looking up, she saw a ninja getting ready to throw about five shurikens. She looked to find where he was aiming and saw Raphael directly in the line of fire. No one else had seen the guy and there was no time to waste thinking about what to do. She ran forward and quickly shoved him out of the way. She felt the wind the shurikens caused behind her lift her hair. When she looked up, she saw Raph staring at her angrily probably thinking something else. Melody pointed to the ground where the shurikens had landed and his eyes widened.

"You- did you just save my life?" He asked, obviously shocked.

"Don't put too much into it." She said, "Your brother would have killed me if I didn't." He glared at her, but whatever he was going to say was interrupted.

"What happened?" Leo asked. He had seen it from where he had been busy fighting.

"There's a ninja up on the roof over there." Melody said as she pointed to where she had seen him.

"I'll take care of him." Leo said and he ran off, slicing ninjas with his katanas as he went.

"Now back to what I was doing." Melody said, but a second later, she was shoved to the ground. She turned and saw Raph blocking her with his Sais from more shurikens.

"Now you saved my life?" She asked.

"Hey," He said with a sneer, "Don't put too much into it."

"That's my line!" Melody said, trying to hold back the smile creeping onto her face. She managed it by saying, "You didn't have to shove me so hard. You didn't have to shove me at all!"

"I know," He said, "But I enjoyed it, _princess!"_

"Oh, you are going down, buddy!" She tackled him to the ground, but she was smiling and so was he, though they both hid it well from the other. He pushed her off of him and they went back to fighting ninjas.

&

An hour later, Melody managed to lead the turtles to the machine that would soon bring about the end of the world. Donny quickly set to work on deactivating it according to Melody's written instructions. To make matters worse, Shredder entered the room (in all his evil glory).

"So you betrayed me anyway?" He asked Melody. "That was very unwise."

"I could never betray my friends!" Melody said as she glanced over at Leo. He nodded before she continued, "You should have known that!"

"I did expect it…" He said, "Now you will face the consequences." He pressed a button on a wrist unit. As she watched, Leo crumpled to the floor, holding his chest. His brothers all turned to him at once. Melody turned to Shredder just in time to see him call forth more ninjas.

"The battle isn't over yet, guys!" She yelled, "Donny, keep trying to disable it. Raphael and Mikey can fight these ninjas. I'll stay by Leo. He's not dying yet!"

"What makes you think you can boss me around!" Raph said, angrily.

"She's…right…" Leo said from where he was lying on the floor. Everyone heard the pain in his voice as he struggled to speak. "Listen…to her... Now!" After that, there was no more argument. Melody stopped any ninja from getting too close to Leo as she watched her watch.

"Alright, I'll take ninja number one and you can take ninja number two." Mikey said. Raph stared at him. "Wait, which one was ninja number one again? Why do you all have ta look alike?!"

"Maybe this will help." Raph slashed a ninja with his Sais. "That's ninja number one and-" He slashed another ninja, "-That's ninja number two. Class is dismissed." He said after slicing three more ninjas, "Time to go back home to ya mommies and daddies." He said as two more ninjas fell to the ground. "And don't forget to do your homework!"

Melody resisted the impulse to laugh. Again, she looked at her watch. In aggravation, she reconnected her two nunchukus to make one, pressed the buttons that caused the daggers on each end to snap in place, deactivated the electric current temporarily, wrapped it around the neck of the ninja in front of her, tightened it around him, and re-electrified it.

"How…much…longer?" Leo asked with his voice weary as well as etched with pain.

"Fifteen minutes." Melody said without looking at him, "Don't waste your energy by talking. You might need it." Time was inching away. It seemed to taunt her like time always does when someone is waiting for it to go by faster. It's like it was going slow for the soul purpose to annoy her. Whenever she glanced back at Leo, he was weaker then before.

_BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!_

The sound of her watch brought a sad smile to her face. She knocked out a ninja that had been bothering her, motioned for Donny, who had already finished deactivating the machine, to come over to her, and she knelt down beside Leo. He was now unconscious and she hoped she wasn't too late.

"Cover me," She told Donny, who nodded. She took out the vaccine from the pouch on her belt and prepared it as quickly as possible.

"Why are they leavin'?" She heard Mikey say.

"I don't know…" Raph said.

"I smell smoke…" Donny said, "I think they set fire to the building."

"They probably realized they were losing." Raph said. "Cowards."

Melody concentrated on injecting the vaccine into Leo's arm. Since the ninjas had left, the three brothers walked over to them. Donny kneeled down beside Melody and the other two stayed standing. "He should be alright now…" She told them, but she heard the doubt in her own voice.

"The fire's gettin' closer," Donny said, hesitantly, "We have ta get movin'."

"Yeah…" Melody said. Donny and Raph both held Leo between them.

"April's place is closer," Raph said. Donny nodded.

"You have nothing to say, Mikey?" Melody said. He just shook his head.

"That's a first," Raph said, but his humor was lost.

**Author's note:** Did you like my battle scene? I never thought I'm good at making them...so...yeah... Review so you can see if Melody made it in time to save Leo!


	12. Hellos and Goodbyes

**Author's note:** Here is the final chapter and my favorite! I find it so funny...then romantic...then sad... Read to find out what I'm talking about!

**Disclaimer:** I do not own them... Only my OC and the plot are mine!

**Chapter 12:**

The first thing Leo was conscious of was the soft fabric he was lying on. He guessed it was a couch. He felt a blanket on top of him also. Then he heard whispering, but he couldn't tell what was being said. He recognized the voices so he guessed this all added up to the fact that he was still alive.

He was surprised at first. From what he remembered, death seemed inevitable. He was ready to die, but by some miracle, he had survived. He remembered waking up like this before. With no idea how he could have survived. Everything seemed to be ganging up against him. Just thinking about it made him angry. He moaned and the voices stopped suddenly. He heard hurried footsteps coming towards him. He heard them say his name, but he still didn't have the energy to do more then lay there doing nothing.

After a few minutes, the voices seemed to think they imagined it and they walked away again. This annoyed him greatly, but he guessed they weren't to blame. He tried to move, to force away his weakness, but nothing happened. _'Mind ova Matter!' _He thought, _'Come on, MOVE!' _It didn't work… He moaned out of frustration. Again came the hurried footsteps. _'Now you have an audience!'_ He thought, _'NOW! MOVE!'_ All he managed to move was his finger. _'Well, at least it was an improvement…'_ He thought, sarcastically.

The problem was he didn't think they saw it. He heard some shuffling, but that was it. Out of anger, he tried to force his resistant body to move… and he ended up on his side on the floor and then facedown. _'Nice,'_ He thought, sarcastically, _'Very smooth...'_ Now he wasn't just in pain from the fall, but he was very uncomfortable. He felt someone lift him up and sit him down on the couch. He felt the cushion of the couch sink a few inches as someone sat next to him.

"Thanks," He managed to say, shocking both himself and the others around him. _'Great! Now I can say something…'_ He thought, again sarcastically, '…_After I fall flat on my face!'_ Slowly, the voices around him came into focus. _'And why is that?'_ He thought, _'Do I have to be able to speak first before I can understand them?'_

"…Ya alright," The voice of Mikey said. Only then did Leo realize Melody's voice was not among them.

"Where's Mel…?" Leo said.

"On the roof," April's voice said. Leo tried to stand, but all he managed to do was end up on the floor again. Mikey started laughing.

"Ya seem ta like the floor a lot…" Raph said. "What were ya tryin' ta accomplish wit' dat?"

"Shut up," Leo said from the floor. His voice was muffled because of the stupid floor. Again, he felt arms pick him back up and sit him on the couch.

"You're not goin' anywhere, Leonardo." April's voice said, "Ya hear?"

"Stupid floor," He mumbled in reply. Mikey was still laughing. Glaring at him seemed to be the perfect response, but he still was unable to open his eyes. Now that he thought about it that could be problematic. His next chore was to get them open.

"I really wanted ta see him fall on the floor again…" Raph's voice sounded sad in an annoyingly mocking way.

"Knock it off, Raph," Donny's voice said. Leo could almost see him roll his eyes, but annoyingly, his eyes were still tightly shut. Slowly he managed to open them. _''Bout time,'_ He thought. He recognized April's apartment, which would explain why she was there.

"How long…?" Leo said as he found out he could only manage two word sentences.

"About a day: almost twenty-four hours," Donny said.

"It's only been that long?" Mikey asked, "It felt like longer…"

"Of course it did," Raph said, sarcastically. Leo continued to look around and he noticed Mikey was sitting next to him, April was crouching at Mikey's feet, Donny was standing at the other side of him, and Raph was standing behind him. Leo leaned forward and put his head in his hands.

"Are ya alright?" April asked.

"Yeah, tired," He explained. "And claustrophobic." He added with a slight chuckle.

"That's not funny," Raph said even though Leo could hear the laughter behind it. He pushed Leo forward and he fell to the floor again.

"Thanks," He said, sarcastically.

"No prob'em," Raph responded back.

This time, Leo tried to stand on his own. He moved to a kneeling position, laid his hand on one of his knees with the other on the floor, and weakly stood to his feet. He almost collapsed if April hadn't stood to help support him.

"I want to talk to Mel…" He said. "Please…"

"I'll help 'im," Donny said as he walked forward.

"Thanks, bro." Leo said.

"No problem," He said.

When they reached the roof, Donny sat him down and left. Leo looked over at Melody as she looked out with her back to him.

"Melody," Leo said. She turned to look at him. "Again, I find you on the rooftop… The last time was two weeks ago…"

"From what I deciphered, you shouldn't have walked up here…" Melody said.

"And why is that?" He asked.

"Donny had to help you," She said, "You are still too weak for you to be walking around."

"Doesn't matter to me."

"Obviously…" She walked over to him and sat down. "I'm glad you're alright. You had me worried for a while."

"I worried you?" He asked with a teasing smile on his face.

"Shut up," She said as she lightly punched him in the arm. He chuckled in response. An awkward silence fell between them.

"So…" Leo began, "Melody Song… Where did that name come from?"

"My mother was a singer and my father was a pianist." She explained, "They had a duet together. Lanier and Martha Song: the most famous duet act in Arizona. One of my favorite songs was 'By the Light of the Moon'. It told of a woman who lost everything: her family, her job, everything. One day, she planned to commit suicide. She had the gun and was about to pull the trigger. She would have done it too if a man she had been seeing hadn't entered the room then. He convinced her to put the gun down and he helped her get back on her feet. I think I cried when I first heard it. They wrote it after Carol's death." She turned to look at Leo then. "It reminds me a lot about my life. I had lost everything too. I can't stop thinking that woman is just like me."

"Melody," Leo said as he placed his arm over her shoulder, "You're stronger then that woman. You didn't lose everything. You have a choice to be who ya want to be. Everyone does. You can move on. I'm sure Carol would want ya to."

"I'm starting to believe that too…" Melody said. "But I can't do it on my own."

"You don't have to." He said, "You have me remember?" She smiled slightly. Leo leaned into her and whispered in her ear, "I'll always be there for ya." And he kissed her on the lips. Slowly, she responded and kissed him back.

The next morning, Leo woke up in his own bed in the lair. He stood and walked out of the room. He looked for Melody, but he couldn't find her. He sat down in the couch as Donny walked over to him.

"Here," Donny said as he held out a piece of paper. "Melody left this for you."

Leo read it:

Leo,

I'm sorry to leave you like this. I knew if I told you, you wouldn't let me leave.

I've packed up my stuff and I am leaving. I left this with Donny because I knew

he would give it to you when I wanted him too. By now, I should be out of the city.

I won't tell you where I'm going and I don't want you to try to find me. I don't

know if I will ever return. Don't wait for me.

Melody Song

A tear fell down Leo's face and he quickly wiped it away. Donny sat down next to him and he put his arm around his brother.

**Author's note:** The end! The sequel to this story is not mine to post... It belongs to my friend actually. It's called "My Life is Rulin'". I might get her to get a screenname here so she can post it. The story after that is mine. It's called "By the Light of the Moon". Then it's my friend's story, "War of the Roses", then mine again, "Lessons Learned". There will also be another story in the series that currently is unnamed. My friend will write that one. (Well, there's another short one-shot in the series, but the only characters in it are basically just Raphael and my friend's OC... and the rest of the turtles as tots!) Please review so I can get my friend to post her story here!


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